Replacement Amp Board on PSW110?

atorg

I have a PSW110 that seems to be damaged (started making cracking sounds at low volumes). It is out of warranty.

I emailed Polk CS and quickly got back a helpful reply suggesting that the Amp board was faulty and that I could purchase a replacement one for $100 + tax and shipping. The representative gave me a part # as well: RF1137-2.

I've replied several times for more information but never received another reply, so trying here. My questions are: is this the type of repair I can do at home? And is there an online store to buy the replacement parts?

Thanks

stevep

You can swap the board at home but repairing the actual amplifier board yourself is beyond the scope of most individuals. You can order the replacement from Polk Customer Service (1-800-377-7655) or from The Speaker Exchange http://reconingspeakers.com/product/polk-psw110-amplifier-assembly/

Polk replaced mine under warranty back in 2012 but the replacement is now also failing so unless they have made design changes you can expect future failures.

atorg

I called Polk and they actually sent me the part for free even though I was slightly out of warranty. Replacing the part was straightforward and the sub works like new. Another Polk CS success story!

tonyb

You can probably pick up a whole PSW 110 on the used market for under 100 bucks. Personally, for the 100 bucks, I'd look at other subs or at least move up to the 505.

spex

we stock this amp if you need it. www.speakerex.com

tonyb

Even at Speakerex, the amp is 100+ bucks, you can buy a whole other used sub for that price....possibly even better. Throw in 50 bucks and you might come away with a 505 on the used markets.

vader540is

stevep wrote: »

You can swap the board at home but repairing the actual amplifier board yourself is beyond the scope of most individuals. You can order the replacement from Polk Customer Service (1-800-377-7655) or from The Speaker Exchange http://reconingspeakers.com/product/polk-psw110-amplifier-assembly/

Polk replaced mine under warranty back in 2012 but the replacement is now also failing so unless they have made design changes you can expect future failures.

Replying to a 3 year old post...but just to help anyone who has this problem. If you know how to solder and have a Steady Hand then you can fix this issue for under $5.00 buy some capacitors 63V 47UF you will need two. You will also need thermal paste and a soldering iron and rosin core solder and a toothpick.
Check out this blog and follow it.


http://hesiod.blogspot.com/2016/01/how-to-fix-humming-on-polk-psw111.html?m=1

Tips

1.note the old capacitors and the orientation of the polarity.

2. Twist off the old capacitors with needle-nose or tweezers twist left and right or keep going in one Direction until the capacitor breaks off from the solder joint.

3. Heat up the backside joint and pull off the top side joint with some tweezers or needle nose pliers to remove the leftover capacitor wire/joint.

4. Get your solder iron and heat up the back side while putting pressure with a tooth pick on the top side. Once the solder melts, the toothpick will push through, wait a couple seconds for the solder to cool down and pull the tooth pick out and you will have a nice clean hole.

4. Install your new capacitor & clip off the excess.

5. Use thermal paste and apply where old thermal paste was.

6. Enjoy your repaired subwoofer.

F1nut

Ummm.....simply desolder the original caps using a solder sucker to remove the solder leaving the holes nice and clean. That's a lot safer than trying rip a cap off via a method which could result in the cap leaking out.

vader540is

F1nut wrote: »

Ummm.....simply desolder the original caps using a solder sucker to remove the solder leaving the holes nice and clean. That's a lot safer than trying rip a cap off via a method which could result in the cap leaking out.

You are correct.

I apologize I should have added this in my post.

- try this method at your own risk-
- it would be best use a de-solder tool
- I didn't want to spend more $$ nor did I have the time.
- I have used to twist off method many times on small capacitors do not try this on larger ones...if there is any residual voltage..it could harm you.

ben2talk

vader540is wrote: »

F1nut wrote: »

Ummm.....simply desolder the original caps using a solder sucker to remove the solder leaving the holes nice and clean. That's a lot safer than trying rip a cap off via a method which could result in the cap leaking out.

You are correct.

I apologize I should have added this in my post.

- try this method at your own risk-
- it would be best use a de-solder tool
- I didn't want to spend more $$ nor did I have the time.
- I have used to twist off method many times on small capacitors do not try this on larger ones...if there is any residual voltage..it could harm you.

You didn't mention 'use pliers to twist them off - not your teeth'. The contents (most likely that was sulfuric acid or some organic or inorganic solvent) are unlikely to cause much of a problem - add 'tissue' to the list of tools required (even I can afford that).

ben2talk

Also looking at Dayton audio sa100 amplifier board to replace it if I can't fix it... better amp.

jmemax

@ben2talk Were you able to resolve the issue with replacing the capacitors, or did you opt for the Dayton board? I'm in the same boat. I posted in the CS forum, but haven't heard anything.

F1nut

No one from Polk monitors this forum. Best to call them.

ben2talk

jmemax wrote: »

@ben2talk Were you able to resolve the issue with replacing the capacitors, or did you opt for the Dayton board? I'm in the same boat. I posted in the CS forum, but haven't heard anything.

Sorry, late reply...
I found it a bit tough doing the soldering (not having the best tools for the job) but indeed, it was fine afterwards.

Though yet again it has failed (motorboating) and after replacing the same capacitors yet again, it is not fixed. Dayton is a US brand, and it's not feasible (for me, the shipping costs are as high as the board price - and I don't think you need the fancy pre-amp, speaker inputs, or filters on the sub if you connect to a receiver LFE output; even the phase can be switched via the Yamaha receiver menu!)

So now I ordered from Lazada - ZK-MT21, which is a 50W x2 stereo + 100W 2.1 Channel Audio Stereo Amplifier (ZK-MT21) and a 24V 5A adapter to power it, hopefully it can give out up to 100W and be enough.

(460 THB is under $14 US, and for a 5A adapter the cost was even more ridiculous at $3 US).

I think if I need more power, I should simply buy a higher rated switch mode power supply.

Either way - the plate amplifier at $130 is pretty rich - and Amazon add shipping to reach $240, so they really aren't much of an option outside the US.

skrol

I bought a PSW110 for $25 with a bad amp (crackling). I replaced the plate amp with one from Parts Express (250 watt) when it went on sale and it was a nice upgrade with a little cutting of the cabinet to fit.

halo71

skrol wrote: »

I bought a PSW110 for $25 with a bad amp (crackling). I replaced the plate amp with one from Parts Express (250 watt) when it went on sale and it was a nice upgrade with a little cutting of the cabinet to fit.

Did you buy one of the HSU plates? I ended up buying 2 myself. Great amps for the price.

skrol

I started with a Yung SD300 but it was DOA, smoking. I returned it and ordered the Dayton SPA250.

Fabio_rm

An alternative could be to replace only the power board with an Icepower 100as1 or 100as2, the dimensions are compatible and it also have a +17 -17 Vdc output to be used as power supply of the pre-amplifier board original. Anyway, replacing all electrolytics with others long life, adding a power switch and adding an heatsink , could solve the problem forever ... or nearly so.